All-polymer particulate slurry batteries.
Wen Yan1, Caixing Wang1, Jiaqi Tian1
1Key Laboratory of Mesoscopic Chemistry of MOE, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Organic Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Nature Communications
|June 9, 2019
Summary
This study introduces all-polymer particulate slurry redox flow batteries, overcoming solubility limits for large-scale energy storage. These novel batteries offer improved safety, lower cost, and enhanced cycling stability.
Area of Science:
- Energy Storage
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Redox flow batteries (RFBs) show potential for grid-scale energy storage.
- Existing RFBs face challenges including safety, cost, and limited cycling stability.
- Solubility limitations of redox-active materials hinder RFB performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel redox flow battery system using all-polymer particulate slurry electrolytes.
- To overcome the solubility limitations of traditional redox-active materials.
- To improve the safety, cost-effectiveness, and cycling stability of RFBs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized micro-sized, uniformly dispersed all-polymer particulate suspensions as redox-active materials.
- Replaced expensive ion-exchange membranes with commercial dialysis membranes.
- Enabled rapid H+ ion transport while preventing particulate crossover via size exclusion.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a highly reversible multi-electron redox process.
- Achieved rapid electrochemical kinetics.
- Exhibited ultra-stable long-term cycling capability in the all-polymer particulate slurry RFBs.
Conclusions:
- All-polymer particulate slurry RFBs effectively address key limitations of conventional systems.
- This approach facilitates the use of insoluble redox-active materials, expanding application possibilities.
- The developed system offers a promising pathway towards safe, cost-effective, and durable large-scale energy storage solutions.
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